I just came on here to post that . Nice article.

My take (from http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/82/820957.html ).

Quote:
Austin's much better than most of the country, and we do support our record stores really well. (Ever try to buy vinyl in Waco? It's just depressing.) But just one trip to the SF Amoeba made me never want to set foot in Waterloo again.

Austin does have a lot of local music going for it, and that's where a lot of value is added in the record stores, particularly Antone's, Sound On Sound, and End of an Ear. They have a lot of focus on Texas and experimental artists that is hard to find elsewhere, so they don't really have to (or want to) compete on price. But you've gotta be open to that sort of thing to appreciate it. (and so far I haven't)

The Times piece is definitely for all the SXSW people, so it's focusing on all the trendy spots. I'm really sad that they didn't mention Breakaway Records, though. Easily the hippest, coolest, and cheapest store I've been to in Austin. And it's right next to a great cafe, too!

Speaking of too late...

What's really sad is how much better the used LP scene used to be around Austin when I was an engineering undergraduate there in 1994-1998 (let alone before that, during my childhood there). Within a 2 mile hiking radius of the University were Sound Exchange (gone!), Half Price Books (moved and vinyl downsized), Waterloo Records (vinyl downsized), Music Asylum (gone), and Antone's (vinyl downsized).

What's to blame for the decline? Partly the general decline in retail music viability and the specific problem of rising Austin rents over the past decade. But just as importantly: easy and readily available stocks of used vinyl are drying up, shifting focus to new pressings, which provide a necessarily limited selection (at a relatively higher price) and have a higher up-front inventory cost to prospective stockists than used material.

I miss those long weekly walks, with my $20 budget in my pocket, my body heaving a sigh of relief from having completed a long, hard week of chemical engineering and violin performance coursework. I wonder if I have any latter day doppelgangers wandering around Austin...

Can one still pick up a mint copy of "Speak No Evil" on mid-60's bluenote at Half-Price for $6.99? Where other than the now-defunct Sound Exchange (formerly the "record exchange") would one find the white label original test-release mono pressing of "Born Under a Bad Sign" for fifteen bucks?

I'm sure things are still OK in Austin, but even here in San Diego, the reality is that used Vinyl shopping has mostly gotten much more difficult -- not better -- and more expensive as time goes on. Used Vinyl in Austin 15 years ago -- now that would've been a good story today! Except, of course, back then it wouldn't have registered on the national radar because every city had better vinyl selection in those days.

Oh well.

Still nice to see a New York Times article on my hometown's vinyl scene, notwithstanding. Thanks for pointing it out!

I was visiting my home state recently (near Texas), and I found a record store near my old neighborhood that had been there for decades and I didn't even realize it (I also didn't listen to record when I lived there). I was so excited, I went to take a look. Nearly all of the used records were $9 and up! We're talking 70s and 80s pop and rock! I found some records I may have snagged, but those like Pink Floyd the Wall (which I have anyway) were $40! Completely ridiculous. The less popular records were a little cheaper (still $9 and up). I picked up VM's Tupelo Honey for $15 (it had some imperfections I thought were probably just dirt I could clean with my VPI - haven't tried it yet) and left. With the selection they had, I could have easily walked out with $50 worth of records if that meant buying more than 3. Even records at the Academy here in NYC are cheaper.

Quote:
Within a 2 mile hiking radius of the University were Sound Exchange (gone!), Half Price Books (moved and vinyl downsized), Waterloo Records (vinyl downsized), Music Asylum (gone), and Antone's (vinyl downsized).

You also missed 33 Degrees and Tower Records. 33 Degrees to me is sorely missed. On the other hand, End of an Ear, Sound On Sound, Breakaway, and at least one other store IIRC are all new, and I think there are a few more Half Prices and Goodwills out here carrying vinyl than there used to be.

Quote:
I was visiting my home state recently (near Texas), and I found a record store near my old neighborhood that had been there for decades and I didn't even realize it (I also didn't listen to record when I lived there). I was so excited, I went to take a look. Nearly all of the used records were $9 and up! We're talking 70s and 80s pop and rock! I found some records I may have snagged, but those like Pink Floyd the Wall (which I have anyway) were $40! Completely ridiculous. The less popular records were a little cheaper (still $9 and up). I picked up VM's Tupelo Honey for $15 (it had some imperfections I thought were probably just dirt I could clean with my VPI - haven't tried it yet) and left. With the selection they had, I could have easily walked out with $50 worth of records if that meant buying more than 3. Even records at the Academy here in NYC are cheaper.

There's a store in my hometown that is like that but even worse: only about 25% of the stock is actually priced, many of those records retain the price sticker of the vinyl shop that shut down at the same location a few years ago, and what is priced is about 100% more expensive than in say Amoeba.

The worst thing I've ever seen though is the purported "best used bookstore in Waco" which mostly offered water-damaged Engelbert Humperdink for $7 on up.

A lot of stores seem to treat their records as unrenewable resources that they are sad to see leave. That is one thing that Austin stores (and of course SF stores) do not share: with a few lame exceptions, turnover seems to be pretty quick, and while some prices are excessive, nothing is priced to not sell.